An Australian member of parliament says the US is giving its allies the shaft by not selling them the F-22 Raptor, and sticking them with the less-capable Joint Strike Fighter.

Key US allies – particularly Australia, Britain, Japan and, although with a very different relationship, Israel – have been told the Raptor is simply too good for them and that they will have to be content with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (and a hobbled export model at that, to ensure even America’s closest friends remain inferior in the skies).

Considering that the survival of the F-22 program is in considerable doubt, and the dependence of the US to achieve its mission overseas on coalition partners, maybe it’s time for the US to rethink its policy on exports?